Konoha Internal Training Ground #32.
Kakashi sat off to the side, reviewing a set of internal documents. The materials primarily concerned the conceptual framework for exchanging jutsu via the "Library."
If a shinobi wished to redeem and learn ninjutsu from the "Library," the basis or cost would naturally be their personal "credit." To elaborate, this so-called credit equated to their contributions to the village. Help Konoha, and Konoha would, in turn, provide help—this line of thinking was undoubtedly sound.
Allowing shinobi to purchase new techniques with cash would defeat the entire purpose of establishing the "Library."
Therefore, the crucial point wasn't the basis for exchange, but rather how to quantify "contribution." Maintaining fairness and reasonability was paramount.
The method discussed in these documents was a very conventional mission point system: assigning different point values based on the difficulty of missions completed. When needed, shinobi could then exchange these points for corresponding jutsu from the Library.
However, Kakashi found the point calculation method detailed in the materials rather crude. According to this proposal, a standard D-rank mission awarded 2 points, C-rank 5 points, B-rank 50 points, A-rank 100 points, and S-rank 400 points. Correspondingly, redeeming a D-rank jutsu cost 20 points, C-rank 50 points, B-rank 300 points, A-rank 600 points, and S-rank 1000 points.
Naturally, this exchange wouldn't include forbidden techniques or clan-specific secret jutsu, only general ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. But even so, the current redemption method seemed overly simplistic. The most significant issue wasn't whether point acquisition and expenditure were balanced—everyone knew that simply learning more jutsu wasn't always better; suitability was key. The core problem was that the system crudely lumped together a jutsu's learning difficulty with its power, effectiveness, and applicability.
An S-rank jutsu wasn't necessarily more useful than a B-rank one. Generally speaking, quite a few B-rank techniques were considered high-level jutsu usable only by Jonin.
This mission point and jutsu exchange system wasn't implemented yet; this function of the "Library" remained inactive. But even without implementation, Kakashi already possessed a hefty sum of points. Earning points wasn't limited to missions; since the emphasis was on "contribution," Kakashi had already provided a substantial number of jutsu to the "Library." Having made such a significant contribution, he was already a high point earner.
Originally, Kakashi had thought he could finally slack off for a while after finishing the tunnel excavation. In reality, his recent experiences had been even more grueling than digging ditches. He increasingly felt that Tenzo had been absolutely right... digging ditches was a good mission. Why hadn't he cherished it more?
On one hand, Kakashi had to help Habara learn Water Release nature transformation. On the other hand, dredging up numerous ninjutsu from the depths of his memory was far from easy. This task of transcribing "secret martial arts manuals" could easily lead to mental burnout—writing oneself into an early grave.
When it came to learning chakra nature transformation, Habara wasn't particularly gifted, at least not compared to Kakashi, whose talent was far superior. Although Kakashi was younger than Habara, he had already mastered all five natures. His innate talent undoubtedly ranked among the highest since Konoha's founding; unfortunately, his fundamental base (chakra reserves) was somewhat lacking.
However, while Habara's learning ability wasn't outstanding, the scope of what he needed to learn was small. Possessing a Kekkei Tōta inherently granted him three affinities. Over the past three years, he had learned Fire Release transformation. For the sole remaining Water Release, he was once again resorting to clever shortcuts. Habara's so-called "Perception Method," combined with the use of Shadow Clones to accelerate experience accumulation, essentially guaranteed he could master the final nature transformation within two months.
Habara didn't consider mastering all five chakra natures particularly extraordinary. Although five-element shinobi were rare and mastering all five transformations was very difficult, it still counted as "conventional learning" in his book. He had no intention of delving further into researching complex chakra-fusion Kekkei Genkai or other Kekkei Tōta after mastering the five basic natures. That kind of deep, DNA-level chakra compilation ability? He genuinely didn't believe he could master a second one; the hope of achieving anything significant in that area felt incredibly slim.
As for more exaggerated ambitions, attempting to reach the level of Kekkei Mōra (Bloodline Encompassing) through gradual, bottom-up accumulation? That was even more impossible. Kekkei Mōra was inherently a top-down application. Trying to reverse-engineer it seemed, frankly, rather fantastical.
In any case, such matters felt quite distant for the current Habara.
With Kakashi's "enthusiastic" help, Habara diligently studied for a month. By this point, his learning progress was only about halfway complete. However, finding this study routine excessively peaceful and monotonous, he felt it was time for some "work-life balance."
"Doggy! Doggy!"
Inside the small earthen building that day, two-year-old Naruto Uzumaki was waging war against a pack of puppies. Truthfully, the intelligence of canine pups might very well exceed that of human toddlers. The small ninja hounds were being chased helter-skelter by Naruto, not because Naruto possessed superior combat prowess, but simply because the dogs were smarter, choosing flight over fight.
"He's rapidly approaching the stage of life where both humans and dogs find him annoying..."
Observing the chaotic scene, Habara couldn't help but feel a sense of time's swift passage. His gaze shifted from Naruto to the pack of dogs...
"Isn't having only dogs a bit unbalanced? Besides, the number of dogs might not be sufficient later on."
Quickly, Habara remembered what he needed to do next.
Truly "successful individuals," he mused, surely had both cats and dogs at home. A life with only dogs wasn't perfect; the animal lovers of the world would surely lament such a state. Therefore, Habara decided it was best to expand the species and quantity of ninja animals under his purview.
In the ninja world, many people raised ninja hounds, but what about ninja cats?
Several large characters immediately popped into Habara's mind:
"The Uchiha Clan."
It wasn't that the Uchiha clan were particularly skilled cat breeders. Rather, they knew people—or perhaps beings—who raised ninja cats. More specifically, they knew a group of ninja cats.
Habara resolved to seek out Uchiha Shisui and ask for his help in hiring a "master cat breeder"—regardless of whether this master was feline or primate, as long as they could produce a troop of ninja cats.
Habara tried to envision the future scene: a mountainside teeming with cats and dogs running freely, and then...
Huh?
All this time, he'd thought he was experiencing a "Ninja Story." He hadn't expected it to turn into some kind of Pokémon story as well.